Summer
by Gigabomb
Summary: The first in a series of viewpoints in Konoha covering the first year Naruto is gone training with Jiraiya. Shino in a forest clearing.


Author's Note: For Ramen-sama, the summer point of view. Shino in a forest clearing. Interesting to write him, though it is pretty hard, seeing as he's a pretty emotionless character.

The clearing was unusually quiet. The only sound he could hear was the quiet hum of his insects, and the distant song of some faraway birds. The sun shone through the leaves, making strange patterns on the grass and casting a shadow over the nearby stream. It was an entirely picturesque scene, undisturbed by Kiba's antics or Hinata's quiet though persistent attempts at conversation.

Shino couldn't concentrate. The occasion may be perfect for a meditation session, but there was too much on his mind, and perhaps he had grown too accustomed to his teammates to find silence as peaceful as he used to. Difficult to slip back into old patterns, now that the genin groups were splitting, one by one, and going their own ways.

It had been bound to happen eventually, but this was unexpectedly soon. Less than a year of working together, and many of the so-called rookies had sought out new teachers and avenues of learning, leaving their former mentors and comrades behind. Shino was no exception to this. Kurenai-sensei was skilled, but she specialized in genjutsu and Shino's talents lay in other fields. His skills had exceeded her ability to teach him, and he now required the training that only his father could give him.

That didn't mean he couldn't remember what used to be. Shino had always been inclined to solitude; as far back as he could remember. There might have been a time when he played games and interacted with other children, but his clan had a somewhat dubious reputation, and his relationship with the insects that lived inside him had driven off all potential friends. Children were not accepting of those who did not conform to their expectations. He had studied alone, trained alone, and graduated similarly.

Then the genin cells had been created. Shino had not been particularly pleased with his selection of teammates. The first day of the academy, he had noted Kiba as a loud annoyance and promptly forgotten about him. Hinata was known from before the academy, as the more prominent clans always got together on occasion to keep relations friendly. She had briefly been considered as a match for him as the heir to the Aburame, before the Hyuuga had ultimately decided to keep it within the family. (While Shino normally disliked the thought of inbreeding, the Hyuuga clan was the largest of Konoha, and the children were unlikely to be born with any abnormalities beyond the usual pale eyes. The Hyuuga's carefully laid plans weren't likely to come to fruition anyway; Hinata had been smitten with Naruto for years, and though she was young and not very well thought of, Hinata was the heir. When she finally succeeded her father, no one would be able to object to the possibility of blond hair cropping up within the Hyuuga bloodline.)

With Hinata's lack of confidence and Kiba's brashness, Shino hadn't been looking forward to his time as a genin. His expectations hadn't been disappointed. Joining the ranks of Konoha's shinobi hadn't matured Kiba at all, and his ever-present impulsivity was a continual irritation to Shino, a member of a clan who valued rationality above all things. Hinata's habit of looking at her hands whenever she spoke to anyone was almost as exasperating. Shino had been presented with two ends of a spectrum, and he made neither decent counterweight nor fulcrum to the two diametrically opposed personalities.

Considering the genin cells were supposed to work together for a long period of time, perhaps years on end, they weren't very thoughtfully composed. The only thing truly considered was the balance of talent to even out the genin groups, with personalities and former relationships rarely taken into account. With their lack of a former bond or anything in common, it was unlikely they would have worked well together at all if not presented with a common obstacle. That was where Kurenai-sensei came in. Jounin instructors were intended for more than giving genin grounding in the basics. In the first week of their training alone, their new teacher had given them plenty to bond about. Namely, pushing them through grueling training exercises, then leaving her students alone just long enough for them to complain about it. Of course, Kiba was the only one who really took advantage of the opportunity, but Hinata would occasionally nod in agreement as she passed around lunch, and Shino, though he deigned to not contribute to the conversations, would silently agree with some of what Kiba was saying and disagree with the rest of it.

The companionship they found with each other had not been discovered in any abrupt, life changing way. It was a slow acceptance of each other's eccentricities, learning what topics to avoid, when to push and when to back down. A silent agreement between Shino and Kiba to never upset Hinata when they could avoid it, a joint pact to never question about the secrets of their clans. To never ask why Hinata was so reluctant to return home after training every day, or what had so decimated the Aburame clan.

Kiba led them. This was not so much a reflection of superior strength as it was Hinata's tendency to freeze under pressure and Shino's own disinterest. They all had their own uniquely individual skills.

Kiba was the best tracker. He could evaluate their opponents' abilities merely by the scent they carried, and had the greatest physical strength. Hinata was their lookout, as her Byakuugan could see an ambush long before they came upon it, and the best at pure hand-to-hand combat. Shino perhaps had the most chakra capacity, though they had never measured it, and his insects were the most insidious weapon they possessed.

Shino didn't truly like Kiba, and despite Hinata's increased confidence, he still found the Hyuuga's reluctance to meet anyone's eyes irritating. But as everyone with family knows, you don't have to like someone to care about them, and miss them when they leave.

It had only been a few weeks since their genin cell had drifted apart, each gravitating towards their respective clans for training. Shino hadn't seen either of his teammates since then, nor his former sensei. It was foolish to listen for their voices, strain to hear the familiar bark of Akamaru and Kiba's obnoxious laugh, to feel Hinata's presence near him as she worked up the courage to ask him to train with her and Kiba. Shino could almost swear he was hearing them now.

"Shino! Hey Shino, where the hell are you, man?" Perhaps he was going insane. That would explain a great deal.

"Shino-kun, are you there?"

"Damn it, we know you're around here somewhere!"

They walked into the clearing, both of them dressed casually, a sight Shino wasn't familiar with. The sun through the leaves played on both of their faces, turning them a light shade of green. Kiba grinned.

"Dude, we've been looking all over for you. Why didn't you say something?"

"Looking for me?"

"Yeah! It's been a while since we've seen each other, and Hinata suggested we go out for lunch. You're dad said you were meditating near here." They had visited his family's estate? No one visited his family's estate. The vast majority of Konoha's population believed the area was a massive ant colony, and avoided it like the plague.

Hinata shuffled her feet uncomfortably when he didn't immediately respond. "I'm sorry that we interrupted your training Shino-kun, but Kurenai-sensei is waiting for us at that seafood place you like, so I thought you might want to come."

A moment of silence. "Alright."

He watched Kiba's face break out in a wide grin and Hinata smile in relief, and felt an unfamiliar feeling wash over him. They wanted his company. Shino was no longer someone they had to train with, but they had deliberately sought him out, even going so far as to ask his father, widely considered to be even creepier than the son. No one had ever done that for him before.

Shino wouldn't say that he liked his teammates. Kiba was loud, Hinata too quiet, and none of them had anything in common. But he didn't need to, and they didn't need too. They were friends, after all. It was easy enough to look all of that over.

FIN


End file.
